Disposable Injector with Automatic Needle Shielding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Prefilled hypodermic syringes face challenges such as chemical interactions with materials, pressure changes leading to medication wastage or contamination, and the risk of needle stick injuries due to the need for recapping, which complicates their use and manufacturing, especially in the Blow-Fill-Seal process.
Innovation Solution
A single-use injector device designed for the Blow-Fill-Seal manufacturing process, featuring a needle assembly that automatically deploys a shield over the needle after use, minimizing contamination risks and incorporating a mechanism to adjust to ambient temperature and pressure changes, while eliminating the need for recapping by using a disposable design with a prefilled ampoule and a collapsible structure to ensure complete fluid ejection without holdback space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If prefilled hypodermic syringes are used, then medication administration efficiency is improved, but the risk of needle stick injuries and contamination increases due to recapping requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a disposable single-use injector system where the entire device including needle, barrel, and plunger is discarded after one use. This eliminates the need for recapping operations that cause needle stick injuries, while maintaining the efficiency benefits of prefilled syringes. The disposable nature ensures no contamination risk from reuse.
Solution Approach 2:
The needle is extracted from the barrel in a controlled manner through a needle shield mechanism that automatically covers the needle after injection. This separation and automatic shielding approach removes the hazardous recapping step while preserving the prefilled efficiency advantage.
2Productivity
If prefilled syringes are used, then healthcare worker efficiency is improved, but chemical interactions with materials such as silicone, adhesives, rubber, and tungsten occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite material construction for the barrel and plunger components, selecting materials that are chemically compatible with various medications. The barrel is made from inert materials that resist chemical interactions, while the plunger uses compatible elastomeric materials that do not react with medication contents, thereby maintaining efficiency without chemical degradation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies material parameters by selecting specific polymers and elastomers with controlled chemical properties. The materials are engineered to have low reactivity with common medications, changing the chemical interaction parameters from harmful to negligible, while maintaining the functional benefits of prefilled syringes.
3Productivity
If prefilled syringes are used, then medication delivery efficiency is improved, but pressure changes during transportation cause medication extrusion or air suction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible membrane at the rear of the barrel that can expand and contract in response to pressure changes during transportation. This flexible barrier prevents medication extrusion when pressure increases and prevents air suction when pressure decreases, maintaining medication integrity while preserving the efficiency of prefilled delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates a compliance chamber or air cushion behind the medication that compensates for pressure changes before they affect the medication. This pre-buffering mechanism absorbs pressure fluctuations, preventing both extrusion and air suction, thereby ensuring reliable medication delivery.
4Ease of manufacture
If traditional syringe design is used, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but the need for separate capping and recapping processes increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adopts a disposable single-use design where the needle shield and entire injector are discarded after one use. This eliminates the need for separate capping and recapping components and processes, simplifying manufacturing while reducing device complexity. The shield is integrated into the disposable unit rather than being a separate reusable component.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the needle shield function with the disposable injector body, combining what would traditionally be separate components into one integrated unit. This merging eliminates the need for separate capping processes and simplifies both manufacturing and usage, reducing overall device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A single use injector is a disposable injection device that is specifically optimized for production using the blow fill seal (BFS) manufacturing process and includes various mechanisms that render the device inoperable and facilitate its safe disposal after use. The single use injector incorporates an ampoule aseptically filled with a medication that is coupled to a hermetically sealed component system. The hermetically sealed component system incorporates various mechanisms that are actuated during the use of the injection device. The injection device is encased in a removable overtube that prevents contamination. upon removal of the overtube, the injection device is activated, by compression of a needle cap that irreversible punctures the ampoule in order to inject the medication through a needle. The injection device additionally incorporates a shield that deploys over the needle following injection of the medication into a patient.